The Bird or the Thief
by raven lynn morrigan
Summary: Raven looks at the two young men staring each other down. There is no way around it she realizes-someone is going to get hurt one way or another before they all leave here tonight.  COMPLETE


**I have been asked to write a Raven-Red X-Robin story before but never had any ideas while I was working on "Of Moonbeams and Starlight." Since that rewrite/type up is done I found the time to try my hand at one.**

The Bird or The Thief?

No alarms had sounded to bring her to this dark old warehouse but she finds herself very cautious as she moves along the stacks of crates. Her sixth sense tells her that someone is here lurking-searching for some prize.

He watches from the rafters as she wanders through the warehouse. There isn't anything of value here-except maybe for her. He could easily subdue her with the suits gadgets and go about his business here on the docks-but then there is something about the dark bird that he finds himself drawn to. He muses that there also can be something said for the thrill of the chase.

Raven finally turns and looks up at the rafters. The thief is here alright.

He teleports behind her-twirling around to deliver a powerful kick while she is off guard.

She turns as if she were expecting him to try that. Quickly-gracefully she dodges the blow. Raven reaches out with her dark powers and grabs several of the crates-throwing them at the villain. "You will have to do better than that if you want me."

Red X doesn't bother with the teleport function this time-he merely jumps up on top of another stack of crates to avoid the projectiles. He leaps down at her before she can grab anymore crates with her powers. "I think desire may be a better word."

Raven merely steps out of the way before he descends upon her.

"Playing hard to get?"

"Who says I'm playing at all?" She somersaults out of the way of some x shaped throwing stars only to have him rush forward and step on the hem of cloak-stopping her before she can get away. Does he really want her or is he just toying with her? Raven isn't so sure just yet and she needs that assurance before she allows this to go any further.

"Got you this time."

She loosens the broach securing the cloak and slips out of it as he tries to use it to pull her back to him. "Not yet."

He lets the cloak flutter to the floor as Raven evades him. He keeps her in sight as she tries to scramble behind a stack of crates. He kicks them-knocking them over to block her path. "You won't get away from me that easily."

Raven braces herself against the wall and holds up a telekinetic shield as crates tumble down around her. She quickly gets up as he kicks fallen crates out of the way as he makes his way toward her. "I never said I wanted to get away."

Is the intense longing he feels for her natural? Right now Red X doesn't care-he wants nothing more than to throw her down-rip open that leotard and have his way with her. His eyes hidden behind the mask are locked on hers "Is it just me-or is there something more bewitching about you tonight than usual?"

She feels the rush from him as he makes her way toward her. His intentions fill her desires-but that doesn't mean she's going to make this easy for him. "If you really want to find out you will have to catch me first." She smirks at him she phases through the rest of the standing crates.

He turns in the direction that she went--if she wants to play hard to get then that just makes it all the more fun for him. Red X leaps up onto the crates first before returning to the rafters. After a quick scan of the area he spots her hiding in a dark corner. He tosses an x meant to explode into sticky goo to trap her.

Raven looks up easily using her dark powers to reverse the weapon's trajectory. "Surely you can do better than that."

Red X jumps down from the rafters landing right in front of Raven as she tries to flee her hiding place. "You have yet to see just how good I can be."

She stops using her powers to knock down the stack of crates beside him before the thief can grab her.

Why he had followed her out here is lost on him now as he hears the sound of combat inside the warehouse. Robin stops in the shadows watching the battle play out in front of him-there is more to this fight than there appears to be. He can feel the pent up tension in the air. He has felt it from Raven for sometime now. He wonders only should he stop this fight or let it play out to its end.

Raven throws only a brief glance back at the door. She senses Robin. After all the time she spent trying to lure him in the last few weeks she wonders why he had to show up now--just after she has turned her attention to tempting another. Another that unlike him is very willing to give her what she needs.

Whatever caused her moment of distraction Red X takes advantage of it. He teleports behind her and quickly clamps a super sticky x over her mouth. He grabs her arms spinning her around as he shoves her against the wall. Red X forces her hands together above her head and uses another of the sticky x's to secure them to the wall. "Now I have you."

Its not exactly what Raven had in mind but at this point she will take what she can get. The urges to satisfy her demon half has become more than she can fight off. If she tries to hold them back much longer she could end up hurting someone.

"You've gone to an awful lot of trouble just to get my undivided attention tonight." He runs his gloved hands along her curves but goes no farther. He can feel the longing for release emanating from her-but he will only continue if she allows it. "Out of all the guys out there to choose from you pick me...I'm flattered. So now that I've captured you-just what is it that I win?"

She is unable to speak and he isn't standing that close so she uses the sticky bindings holding her hands over her head to pull herself up just enough so that she can swing her legs out and grab him around the waist.

"I was hoping that's what you had in mind. I guess that only leaves the question-do you like it as rough as your little game implies?" The look in her eyes gives him the only answer he needs. He takes a sharped edged x and slices open the front of her leotard.

Raven looks up suddenly as she remembers that she sensed Robin earlier. She lets go of Red X as she searches frantically for wherever Robin might be hiding now.

Robin watches the thief tear Raven's clothes. No matter her reasons for her strange behavior as of late he doesn't like the idea of her going to a villain-especially one that would treat her like this.

She can only watch now-the bonds zapping her dark powers as Robin leaps from the shadows at Red X. She tries to scream out for him to stop-but only muffled cries escape her.

"Let her go!"

Red X turns to see Robin as he follows Raven's gaze-he should have expected him to try and spoil the fun. He back flips out of the way-letting Robin land in front of him-with Raven pinned to the wall between them. "She came to me."

"You think she came to you-to be treated like this?"

"I don't hear her complaining. Admit it you're just jealous Chuckles."

Raven looks at the two young men staring each other down. There is no way around it she realizes-someone is going to get hurt one way or another before they all leave here tonight.

"Jealous? Of someone intending to rape one of my teammates."

"Its only rape if one of the other party objects. Other than her idea of foreplay she didn't try to stop me at all."

Robin turns to Raven. "I don't know what has gotten into you lately, but its time to go home Raven."

She shies away from Robin as he tries to use one of his birdarangs to free her.

"You wouldn't want to force her to do something against her will now would you?"

Robin turns looking at the thief behind him-it infuriates him as he hears the smirk in the villains voice.

"Why don't we let her decide what she wants?"

Raven looks from Robin to Red X...its the bird or the thief.

Robin glares at the thief from behind his masked eyes as he addresses Raven. "What do you want Raven? To keep fighting crime with your friends or run off with the enemy? You can't expect to go on fighting crime one minute and then run off playing these twisted games with the bad guys the next."

She doesn't object when Red X steps up-gently removing the gag and freeing her hands from the wall. Raven looks down at her hands which remain bound together-she is thankful for whatever it is about them that seems to be keeping her powers at bay-despite her raging emotions right now. She is silent for sometime before she looks back up at Robin. "You knew something wasn't right about me-didn't you?"

"Its kind of hard to miss. Beast Boy has been convinced you're in some kind of heat for weeks now."

"I tried to fight it...but if I keep it up much longer someone is going to get hurt." She looks up at Red X. "I need someone willing."

"And you don't care who that someone is?"

"What would you do for her Robin? Lock her in the tower and hope it passes before her powers tear it out from under you? I think you've already had your chance to help her." Red X holds his hand out to Raven. "Come on Raven. You don't have to answer to anyone."

"If you go there is no coming back, Raven. Join him we will have to hunt you down just like any other criminal."

Raven looks up at Red X a few moments before finally taking his hand. She looks back at Robin as tears threaten to spill from her eyes. "I'm sorry Robin...I know this upsets you and I hope that someday you can put those feeling aside and come to understand why I have to do this."

"Nothing personal-Chuckles but when a beautiful lady goes to so much trouble to track me down-with an offer like this--I won't disappoint. Don't worry, I'll take real good care of her." Red X pulls her close to him and triggers the teleport function on the suit taking Raven away with him.

Robin looks down to find Raven's discarded cloak. He picks it up and finds her Titan communicator inside-he takes it out and leaves the cloak as he walks away.

From a roof top not far away Raven watches as Robin leaves.

Red X teleports back to her after retrieving the cloak that he places across her shoulders. "You sure that this is what you want?"

She turns to Red X and slips her still bound hands over his head. "You're all I need." She takes one last look back at the tower in the distance as Red X picks her up bridal style and carries her away.

**This is just a one shot deal-like "Sun Shock" and "The Final Escape." I do not plan to go back and add to any of them or this one. I like to call these kinds of stories "in the moment"-meaning that they were written in a moment of time from certain states of mind or feelings that can never be recaptured again once they pass. As for the very open ending to this one...as I've said before a college professor once told me if I couldn't find and ending leave the audience hanging instead of drawing it out and losing them. As the title implies in this story Raven's aim was to make a choice and she did-end of story.**


End file.
